Kukla's Korner Hockey

STADIUM EVENTS -- BY THE NUMBERS
From Jan. 1 through Mar. 2, hundreds of thousands of fans experienced the excitement of NHL regular-season games at iconic stadium venues throughout North America.

* Attendance for the six combined NHL Winter Classic, Heritage Classic and Stadium Series games in 2013-14 surpassed 375,000. Overall, the 13 total games have drawn more than 740,000 fans since 2003-04:

BLUES BREAK DROUGHT IN SUCCESSFUL MILLER DEBUT
The Blues broke a franchise-long goalless drought of 187:44 by scoring four times in a third-period rally at Phoenix. Down 2-0 after 40 minutes, Patrick Berglund (2-0—2) opened the floodgates by scoring at 3:18 of the final frame. The Blues improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games against the Coyotes and edged in front of Chicago in their see-saw battle for first place in the Central Division.

* Ryan Miller made 23 saves in his St. Louis debut, and now holds a 7-0-0 record in his career against Phoenix. He has beaten the Coyotes three times this season, twice with Buffalo.

FLYERS PERSEVERE FOR KEY METROPOLITAN WIN
Vincent Lecavalier scored the overtime winner – his 900th career point – for the Flyers, who overcame deficits of 1-0, 2-1, and 4-2 in defeating the Capitals 5-4. Philadelphia leapfrogged the Rangers into second place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Lecavalier became the 11th active player to reach the 900 point plateau (397-503—900). His overtime goal was the ninth of his career.

* Claude Giroux posted 2-1—3, marking his third three-point game in his last nine outings. Giroux has 7-8—15 in his last 10 contests and sits seventh in League scoring with 21-40—61 this season.

BLUELINE SPARKS AVALANCHE
Three of the Avalanche's four third-period goals against Tampa Bay came from defensemen, who scored four in the game. Nick Holden matched a career high with two goals, and Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson each had one.

* Nathan MacKinnon assisted on Colorado’s first and last goals to extend his point streak to 11 games (5-11—16). The top pick in the 2013 NHL Draft also increased his rookie scoring lead, improving to 22-27—49 in 61 games this season.

* Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves to reach the 30-win mark for the first time in his NHL career. Varlamov ranks second in the League in victories, one behind Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury.

THIRD-PERIOD OUTBURST LIFTS PANTHERS PAST ISLES
The Panthers scored four times in the third period, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 win on Long Island. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Panthers notched four times in the final frame for the first time since Mar. 19, 2013 in a 4-1 victory over Carolina. Shawn Matthias and Scottie Upshall each tallied 2-1—3 for the winners.

DUCKS STILL FLYING HIGH
Led by Corey Perry's fourth three-point game of the season (2-1—3), the Ducks extended their lead atop the NHL overall standings to five points in winning their second consecutive game following the Olympic break and third overall.

* Andrew Cogliano scored his 19th goal of the season, a career high. He has tallied the game-winning goal in consecutive games following the Olympic break.

* Frederik Andersen made a career-high 49 saves, include 24 during a 26-shot Carolina barrage in the third period, to improve to 15-3-0 in his rookie season.

BRUINS COME UP BIG ON BROADWAY
Dougie Hamilton recorded his first career three-point game (1-2—3) and Tuukka Rask made 39 saves for his 26th win of the season as the Bruins completed a season sweep of the Rangers (3-0-0).

* Jarome Iginla posted 1-1—2, and now has 5-12—17 in his last 11 games.

* Gregory Campbell (2-0—2) posted his first multi-goal/point game of the season, including the shorthanded game-winner at 9:04 of the third period.

* The Bruins also received multi-point efforts from Milan Lucic (1-1—2), Loui Eriksson (0-2—2), and David Krejci (0-2—2).

LOOSE PUCKS
Washington's Mike Green tallied three assists for the first time since February 1, 2009 (1-3—4)…New Jersey's Adam Henrique (1-1—2) had his third consecutive multi-point game, giving him 100 career points…San Jose's Patrick Marleau scored and added an assist to extend his point streak to four games (3-3—6)… Carolina's Andrej Sekera scored to extend his point streak to four games (2-2—4)… Florida acquired forward Brandon Pirri from Chicago for a 3rd-round choice in the 2014 NHL Draft and a 5th-round selection in 2016.